


curiosity

by spritewrites (giggly__gay)



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Bonding, Gen, Post-Canon, Tickling, Titles are hard, diego is a piece of shit, he always is isn't he, luther is a housewife, this is a tickle fic, this world needed some more lee!luther, ticklish!luther
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:22:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25832011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giggly__gay/pseuds/spritewrites
Summary: luther and diego catch up on some much-needed bonding, and diego asks a few questions about luther's... development.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	curiosity

Sometimes it’s the little things in life, Luther thinks to himself. Well, sometimes the big things matter too. The ones you love. Saving the world. Family connections. Those things matter a lot. But also, sometimes the little things are more than enough. Like, sometimes it’s nice to open your window in summer. Or eat corn on the cob. Or fold warm laundry in your childhood bedroom, sorting the clothes into neat stacks for easy drawer storage. Drawerage. Heh.

“Hey Luther – oh.”

Luther turned away from his piles to see Diego leaning against the doorframe. Yep, he definitely turned away and didn’t jump out of his skin at all.

“What?”

“Nothing, just got sent up here to let you know that Allison and Klaus are going to the mall. Allison wanted me to ask you if you wanted to go too.”

There was a pause.

“…Do you want to go too?”

Luther chuckled, tucking the sleeves of a knit sweater into a tight square and adding it to the pile on the bed. He still almost never left the house (didn’t like the looks he got), but it was nice to be asked. “No, tell them I’m alright.”

“Can do,” Diego said, then, without turning away or missing a beat, shouted as loudly as he could, “LUTHER DOESN’T WANT TO GO.”

“OKAY,” came Allison’s muffled reply from somewhere in the mansion.

Luther gave his brother a hard look. “Asshole.”

Diego grinned, kicking off of the doorframe and strolling into the room like he owned the place, running his fingers over surfaces and peering into corners. Luther watched him roam, only half paying attention to his laundry, until Diego finally picked up one of the unfolded sweaters and held it up in front of him.

“Shit, these things are huge.”

“Mom makes them.”

The sweater slipped over Diego’s head with ease, and Luther couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“You look like Five when he tried to put on real clothes.”

“Fuck off,” Diego replied automatically, but there was no real venom in his words. There never really was, not since the 60s. Instead, he was eyeing Luther curiously. “You really are huge.”

Luther rolled his eyes. “Gee, thanks.”

“No, I mean…” Diego took off the sweater, turning it over in his hands. “I dunno. I’m sorry. About that.”

Luther froze for a second, mid-fold on a scarf. _Oh._ Nobody had ever said that before. “It’s not your fault. Dad should be the one saying sorry.”

There was a scoff from Diego, a little glimpse of his old vigilante self. “Yeah, like the old man would ever say sorry.” Luther felt his brother’s gaze turn back to him, but it wasn’t judgmental or rude. “How does it work?”

“How does what work?”

“Your… gorilla thing.”

Another folded sweater was added to the pile. “What do you mean?”  
  


“Like…” Diego dropped the sweater and picked up a glove. “Does it affect your powers? Like, are you stronger?”

It felt weird to talk to Diego like this. If he hadn’t known better, Luther would have called this ‘bonding.’ “Not really, not… not any more than I was before. Just kinda… bulkier.”

“Does your skin feel any different?”

Luther fixed him with a look. “More hair, dumbass.”

In typical fashion, Diego rolled his eyes and reached out to touch his arm, the upper part where his short sleeve met his bicep. “You know what I mean, Diddy Kong. Like the texture and stuff. Does it – oh, you feel like Pogo.”

Luther yanked his arm away, flushing. “Shut up.”

“No, it’s…” Diego’s face also looked kind of red. Maybe it was the light. “It’s nice. Is that everywhere?”

Slowly, but somehow still much faster than Luther could process, another curious prod was in his waist. He flinched slightly, glaring at his brother. “Alright, Sherlock Holmes, fuck off with your detective work.”

“Aw, come on, big boy, I’m just trying to –” Another poke landed somewhere in the vicinity of Luther’s side, and he snatched Diego’s wrist out of the air, his eyes a careful warning.

“ _Don’t_.”

“I won’t.”

But there was something in Diego’s expression, something Luther couldn’t quite place. It was somewhere between mischief and excitement, and Luther wasn’t _scared_ , exactly, Number One didn’t get scared. Didn’t get nervous either. Maybe… cautious? Yeah, he was cautious about what his brother was planning (because Diego was _always_ planning, even if those plans don’t always go as… well, planned), and –

“You overthink,” Diego said, and then suddenly Luther was on his back on the bed and there were fingers _everywhere,_ poking ruthlessly, and oh my God, he hadn’t laughed like this since they were kids.

“D-Diego,” he choked, trying to say more, but then his brother was digging into his underarms and Luther maybe blacked out for a second. He was dimly aware of Diego saying something, but his limbs felt like melting Jell-O and his nerves were fried and his brain was on a loop of _that tickles that tickles that tickles._ “Please!”

Eventually, finally, the torture subsided, and Luther could physically feel the air filling his lungs again. A smirking Diego came into focus: hovered over him, arms crossed.

“I _knew_ it.”

“Knew what?” The last of Luther’s giggles were still slipping out without his permission.

“That you were still ticklish, obviously. That’s the only way we could ever win a fight against you as kids, remember? Cause you go all…” He flopped his arms around to illustrate his point. “Wobbly.”

Luther fought back his smile, hugging his arms around himself. “I tried to forget.”

“I thought the serum might’ve, I dunno, fixed that for you.”

“I thought so too,” Luther said ruefully, which made Diego laugh. Huh. Luther didn’t think he’d ever made Diego laugh before.

“Well, at least we know we can still overpower you in a pinch, big boy,” his brother teased, reaching for his side again, but his wrist was in Luther’s big fist before he could even blink.

“Hey, what –”

Luther raised an eyebrow. “Payback.”

It took Vanya coming to check out the screams in Luther’s room for them to fully call a truce, but the look on Luther’s face when he realized that Diego’s kicking had knocked over his neat laundry piles was worth every second.

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: spritewrites


End file.
